Price of Admission
by Darthkvzn
Summary: A certain fiery redhead reflects on her first couple of years of heroics. Bit of fluff, some snark, lots of brooding! Near Future AU! -ON HIATUS FOR THE HOLIDAYS-
1. Worth it

Hello, dear reader, and welcome to my first story outside of the Zelda fandom! This work has been on my mind for a while, ever since I delved into fanfiction's Iron Man archive. I love Pepper and Tony's relationship as portrayed in the movies (with the glaring exception of a couple of scenes in Iron Man 3), and I also love the concept of Pepper developing a heroic persona so much ever since I discovered her as Rescue. You might notice that I never call her Rescue here, and that has a reason that will be developed later! Enough from me for now, so enjoy the story! - Darthkvzn

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><p>If Virginia "Pepper" Stark (née Potts, but only on paper for the legal issues) had to pin down the best part about being a superhero, she'd be hard-pressed. Being able to fly faster than any plane would be up there, though.<p>

Not that the job came without cons, of course. Sharing a rogues gallery with her newly-minted husband was one. It would seem that the world was not satisfied with having super-powered individuals on the side of good, but rather felt the need to balance with the mentally imbalanced. It was a good thing, she supposed, that Tony was pretty much the smartest man alive, in her eyes, at least. For every advancement the Hammer family, for instance, presented, Tony was one upgrade above and beyond the necessary call of duty.

Flying was definitely a pro, though. The worst part about her job ever since she started working at Stark Industries was the flying downtime. Working under Tony, she needed every single second to be productive, given that her former boss seemed to be under the impression that he lived in his own little dimension, free from work and filled with all of life's pleasures. Now that she could control when, where, how and for how long she would fly, she found herself very rarely taking advantage of the cruise control feature the Mark 2 Light Adaptable Combat Exoskeleton (given that it was her wedding present from Tony, she was sure the L.A.C.E. acronym was completely on purpose) offered. As soon as her new armor, nicknamed "Amazon" had become familiar to the people of New York and beyond, she'd taken to the skies around Manhattan at least once a day, a telltale repulsor flare as she slalomed around skyscrapers prompting the people both behind the windows and on the ground to take their phones out in hopes of capturing a good angle and selling the picture to the Bugle or one of the larger gossip and speculation websites.

That last bit was another one of the cons. As a mutual agreement between the sort-of-newlyweds, Pepper had kept her heroic persona separated from her day job as acting CEO of Stark Industries (hence the legal issues), and thus the identity of this new Stark sponsored superhero was the subject of wild speculation by pretty much everyone. In a world where superheroes were as famous as any movie star, secret identities were a luxury, and a very hard to keep, at that. The theorists weren't very close, since she had kept up appearances, and gotten her own Life Model Decoy to better ensure no one made the connection between the fiery redhead at the top of the business world, and the crimson themed heroine, but she'd probably have to ask Spider-Man for some pointers. He seemed friendly enough, and she'd certainly need the help as an Avenger-to-be.

She didn't have her Identi-card yet, but the prospect of joining the motley crew known to the world as the Avengers was certainly a pro. Ever since the team's official formation, shortly after the invasion and attempted takeover by Loki and his borrowed Chitauri army, the team had steadily proven itself to be worthy of the title of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes". With the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony had taken less of a leadership role, leaving that to Steve, and had taken upon himself to provide the team with upgrades, transport, housing and funding in general. Having established themselves in Avengers Tower, the team had been looking to increase its roster, trying to better address threats all over the world. So far, they'd had a lot of success, integrating War Machine, Falcon, Doctor Strange and Miss Marvel into their effort, and looking to recruit many more of the super powered individuals who were lately making their heroic (and sometimes not so heroic) feats known to the general public.

Blasting off past the Empire State Building, Pepper wondered how well she'd fit into the team dynamic. Right now, Steve was talking about a Beta team, and planning even for Gamma team. She didn't have any illusions of grandeur though. She was very aware of the fact that she'd probably never make the main team. She just wasn't Iron Man, or Captain America. Even Hawkeye and Black Widow had made a name for themselves, regardless of their darker deeds having been made known to the people of the world. And for all the property damage Hulk had historically caused, he might as well be a big cuddly bear, what with all the love he got from people, especially children. She would probably get placed on one of the secondary teams, if not just kept on duty at Avengers Tower. Perhaps the latter would be preferable. It would work better with her secret identity, and she wouldn't have to worry much about team dynamics. And boy, was she worrying now.

She had a fairly normal relationship with most of the team members, given that none other than Tony knew who she was. They respected her privacy, and didn't pry, or at least not too much. Steve was, of course, overly courteous. Doctor Banner was always very sweet and mild mannered. Former Agent Barton was very aloof, merely nodding as a way of acknowledging her. Thor was rarely in town, but when he was, he always offered to race her. Natasha was the only one of the team who was openly friendly to her, probably having the need to chat with another woman (yet never admitting it). Rhodey was, obviously, privy to her secret, so no issues there. Sam had proven to be a stalwart friend, if still slightly unsure of his place with the Avengers. Doctor Strange was barely more than the supernatural contact for the team at this point, so she had no relationship with him, aside of appreciating his facial hair, much to Tony's chagrin.

The issue was with Carol Danvers.

Carol was a very nice woman. Strong-willed, a good sense of right and wrong, military raised. All these were good qualities for a budding superhero. However, with her powers, came her problems. No matter how nice a person, most humans couldn't survive explosions, much less of alien origin, and then some. Whatever process had turned her into a Kree-Human hybrid, also gave her infrequent yet extremely dangerous episodes where she couldn't distinguish friend from foe. Tony called these schizophrenic like tendencies her Binary state, and Pepper had been unfortunate enough to be on the wrong end of a photon blast a few months back. Her body and their relationship had long since mended, but she still bore the scars on her back, arms and legs proving just how badly she'd been outmatched against the unstoppable juggernaut that Miss Marvel could get to be, before being subdued by the team's heavy hitters.

All in all, lots of pros and cons, and that was putting it mildly. As she arrived at the Tower from her short flight, she briefly considered how her life might be, if God or gods forbid she had never met Tony. She wouldn't have to worry about her life much more than the average citizen, that's for sure. And she probably wouldn't worry about her heart until she was in her fifties. Not to mention she wouldn't know anything about technology other than turning her tv or computer on and off.

But then she wouldn't have met the love of her life. Or met the most extraordinary group of people on Earth…and painful as it was, she couldn't deny the thrill of holding her own against a nearly all powerful superwoman. Most importantly, she wouldn't have the chance to help people like only a superhero could. She'd rescued so many, and the proof was all here, Pepper thought, as she entered the secret room Tony and her had all to themselves deep within the tower. On the wall facing her side of the bed, there was a small, but growing collage of letters, from both fans and people who were thankful, either rescued or just appreciating all that she did for humanity.

And that was certainly worth the price of admission.

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><p>A bit fluffy in the end there, huh? I like fluff a lot, but I only give slight hints on my bigger stories. This isn't one of them, but it's certainly a stepping stone! I have notes on how the Avengers will develop in my fictions, and how Pepper has come this far, and will be playing a big role going forth! I also play a bit with a rivalry between one of my favorite characters, Miss Marvel, and our dear Pepper. This will play a big part in the coming fictions, too! I am taking a lot of liberties with the characters, so bear with me, I promise we are in for an awesome (if slow) ride! Thank you for reading! - Darthkvzn<p> 


	2. Steep

Hello, and welcome to chapter two of Price of Admission. This is a bit of a darker chapter, showing us what we all know now, but Pepper had yet to find out: being a superhero is not always a good time. It's a very hard thing to do, more so on a regular basis. Like many of us, Pepper falls a bit for the romantic aspect of the job, with dramatic consequences. No more for now, just enjoy! - Darhkvzn

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><p>Pepper's armor had obviously been designed by the same hand that designed Iron Man. The color scheme was darker, it was much less angular, and the figure was decidedly feminine, without exaggerating her curves as much as the previous models. She'd gotten tired of being called Iron Lady or Iron Woman. It just wasn't her, and since her marriage to Tony was a public affair, it might link her more easily to the armored superhero. The armor also incorporated the prehensile technology that eliminated the need for a lengthy "suit up" sequence like Tony's first armors. Thus, she didn't really "wear" the armor; she entered it, instead.<p>

Exiting the suit, she looked at the collage in the wall. Tony rarely checked it, but she had meticulously maintained it, adding the best pieces of fan art and mail where appropriate, centering the design around her favorite ones. In the middle of it all, there was an object that differed from all the others, though.

A broken pair of glasses. They told a much different story, intended not to celebrate her work, but rather teach her that the job is never ending, nor easy.

She'd gone by Rescue then. A moniker born of her suit being designed with only defensive capabilities in mind. Tony wanted her to be as safe as he was, but he didn't want to give her the risks that came with being Iron Man. She'd argued at first, saying that if there was someone she wanted to protect, it was him, being at his side, but Tony's word had been final on the matter. And so she'd gone into the superhero business doing something that heroes had somewhat neglected as of late: helping the civilians.

That day, a new threat had arrived to New York. Thor was off-world, Banner was looking into reports of a "red giant" in the far east, and the rest of the main Avengers had been called in by Nick Fury to follow up on recent developments (which to her just meant spy business). That left only Rhodey, Tony and herself, since they had not yet met Carol and Doctor Strange was unavailable for contact (which probably meant he was doing something related to the words "astral plane"). And so Team Iron Man (as Tony jokingly called it) responded to the call for heroes.

Turns out, while Justin Hammer was sitting comfortably in house arrest, his family had decided to get some revenge for their newfound, less-than-ideal financial situation.

The first enemy was his wife. Pepper had met her before, when Tony still went to the parties hosted by the US Military for their defensive contractors. The woman was definitely beautiful, but she had a very cold air about her, probably out of years of tolerating Hammer's "womanizing" ways. Not that he ever actually succeeded, Pepper thought, but that never stopped him from trying.

The ironically named Justine Hammer had somehow gotten her hands on a "Technologically superior cowl/armor combo", according to her rant, which allowed her to teleport, and psionically manipulate the metallic fiber of the red cloth into many shapes, both offensive and defensive. She called herself the Crimson Cowl, and she had decided to go on a rampage in Midtown Manhattan. And she had help in the shape of her 15 year old psychotic daughter.

Sasha Hammer had no alias to speak of, claiming she didn't need one because she "wanted the world to know what the daughter of Justin Hammer was capable of". Daddy's dearest had been experimented on as a child, and as a result, she was superhumanly durable and had the ability to shoot plasma from her fingertips. Add to that her own purple and black armor and the girl was a flying psychopath with a penchant for meaningless destruction.

The battle had proven hard, 2 on 2, while she stayed behind and helped the victims of the Hammer girls. Her enhanced strength and speed, coupled with her shield generators and the repulsors in her gauntlets and boots were ideal for clearing debris and protecting bystanders. While she liked being able to help out those who were basically powerless against the super powered psychos, she felt like she wasn't as…useful.

That's when she saw Tony take a hard hit from the crazy teenager, and Rhodey's minigun get sliced off by the Crimson Cowl. She had to help. She had to rescue them! She checked her systems for anything she might be able to use against the battered villains. Shields, speed, strength, basic repulsors…it would have to do. She heard a guy call for her, but there wasn't time, she had to do something to stop these maniacs. And so she charged for the Crimson Cowl, the nearest one.

The Hammer matriarch never saw her coming. Thinking she was not even a threat, the Crimson Cowl had been in the process of gloating over War Machine, and getting creative with how she would finish him off. Trusting her right hook, Pepper slugged her on the back of her head, and when Justine dazedly turned around, the armored woman grabbed her head and brought it to her knee. The Cowl was out like a light.

Outraged (and certainly deranged), Sasha shot a barrage of plasma from her finger-gun shaped hand, deadly intent apparent. Pepper made a split second decision to activate a strong particle shield instead of trying to dodge. The shield held, and Pepper smirked when the teen cocked her head in confusion. Activating the repulsors in her gauntlets, she targeted the black haired teen, fast. The youngest Hammer covered her face, but Pepper wasn't aiming for that. She fired at her left leg, and activated her thrusters at full, both the ones in her back, and on her boots, delivering the mother of all knockouts to her opponent.

Looking up triumphantly, she became the victim of instant karma when a blur of red tackled her to the ground. She was expecting to get impaled, but instead got a flash of light that blinded her sensors momentarily. When her HUD stabilized, she looked up to see an empty battlefield. So Justine wasn't kidding about teleportation technology.

She rose, looking for Tony. He was probably going to chew her out for getting into the fight. Tony and Rhodey were among a crowd. They were probably about to sign autographs, she thought, when she noticed the crowd wasn't the usual mess of cheering and laughter. She landed right at the edge of the crowd, gently pushing the bystanders away. When she joined the kneeling figure of Tony, she felt her heart drop.

Lying on the ground was a blonde teenager, with a shard of metallic debris sticking out from her chest. It had pierced her lung, and she had slowly bled out on the pavement. A young man that looked about her age was silently crying at her side, holding her bloody hand. He looked up at her, and his expression changed. He was angry. Furious, even.

"You left her! I asked for your help and you went off to fight those freaks! You could've taken her to a hospital, she could've survived! Aren't you supposed to be Rescue? You abandoned us and now she's DEAD because of your goddamned arrogance!" –She could feel the hate radiating, and it wasn't just coming from the ground. She hated herself right now, and everything about her. Tony had said it all before, but the venom with which the young man had said it had broken her heart. The tears she was bitterly shedding were just grim confirmation.

Tony got angry-"Hey, I know you're angry, but you're way out of line! She just saved all of us by fighting those psychopaths"

Poor choice of words.

"But she didn't save everyone, did she? Kathleen's not gonna get to celebrate your little victory tonight!"-he said actually standing and staring Iron Man in the face. Or rather, his faceplate.

Pepper couldn't stomach it any longer. She flew away, tearing her armor off as soon as she got within Avengers Tower. She wasn't worthy of this blessing. She'd been arrogant, and that had gotten taken the life of a young woman. This Kathleen was probably around the same age she'd been when she first met Tony. How much had Pepper taken from her? How many Kathleens had she killed with her poor decision making? The student? The wife? The mother?

When Tony came back, not too long after herself, he gave her a pair of broken glasses. He said nothing until it dawned on her. Her eyes were already puffy and red, and they were just about to get worse, fresh tears filling her eyes.

"Don't cry. This isn't me being cruel. Think of it as kind of a rite of passage"-He said, his face soft.

Pepper looked up at him, utterly confused.

"Pep, part of coming into your identity as a hero is finding out that you just can't save them all. No matter how fast, or how strong, you aren't a goddess, and even if you were, ask Thor. He's lost so many men and friends over the ages; he's actually the best example out of all of us. Ask Cap, he saved so many yet he lost his best friend…I couldn't save Yinsen, Pep. The man who made me who I am today is dead because he wanted to give me more time to prepare my first suit, but the day will never come that I don't blame myself for not being fast enough to save him."-He pulled a torn photo from his wallet, giving her a lopsided smile: "Don't worry, I still have our picture first and foremost. But I carry this photo of Yinsen to remind myself that I'm not perfect, and that there'll be another one I won't be able to save. Just remember to do your best…and remind me to upgrade your armor; you need some missiles or something."

It had been about a year since that incident, and she was proud to say that she had, so far, saved them all. But every night, before she slept, she went back to that collage, and she apologized to Kathleen. She hoped that if she ever encountered her in the afterlife, she had the chance to say sorry.

Because, while worth it, the price of admission was still steep.

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><p>You may notice a couple of things, especially if you're familiar with the comics: one, I used the Rescue name for Pepper's alter ego. This is barely explained on purpose, because I have an idea for a later chapter, explaining how she actually decided to become a superhero in her own right. Two, I have almost completely disregarded the Hammer family tree. Justine is supposed to be the daughter of Justin Hammer, and Sasha is daughter to Justine and the Mandarin himself. The MCU gave us a much younger Justin Hammer, though, and I think this family structure works best with that. I will use Justin Hammer eventually, in a very different role to the movies and comics, although, not really a spoiler, he'll still be a villain. I loved coming up with my own take on Hammer ladies. I see Justine as being a very cold and sociopathic villain, while Sasha is way more psycho. If you want to see the designs I based my characters on, please visit my twitter! darthkvzn has the images you'd be looking for. I hope you like them, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! More to come, probably next week, thank you for reading! - Darthkvzn<p> 


	3. Perks

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the third chapter of Price of Admission. Seeing as the last chapter was a bit dark, I decided to give you a light one now. I've thought about this chapter for a couple of months now, and I really like how it turned out. We get to see a bit of Pep's origin story, and Tony being really romantic without losing his snarky touch, I think. Not another word from me, so just enjoy! - Darthkvzn

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><p>While flying was the one she enjoyed the most, Pepper had to admit that there were other perks she enjoyed from the life of heroics she led.<p>

There was fierce debate among the scientific community over who was the most intelligent man alive. Some were adamant that Hank Pym was it. His discovery of the Pym particle had revolutionized many processes industry-wise. Some others claimed that it was Bruce Banner. The consensus was mostly in favor of Reed Richards, the newly minted Mr. Fantastic, as his expertise encompassed most fields of science.

To Pepper (and to every engineer alive and not a rival or enemy), Anthony Edward Stark was the best and brightest of them all. She might be a little biased, but anyone capable of both saving her life and giving her a new one altogether had to have earned said bias.

She'd been close to death, before they were married, before she had become a superhero. In an ironic twist of fate, a similar attack to the one that forced Tony to wear the miniaturized arc reactor had made her wear one, too. The shrapnel was much less dangerous, and the quantity smaller, but Tony had taken no chances, because while the attack was similar, the setting was wholly different.

Tony had been running late on date night, as usual. She'd never really been bothered by it, given that her boyfriend was Iron Man, and even then usually lacked the attention span to check the clock. He was never too late, though, so her patience had never worn thin. This particular night was their one year anniversary, so she'd been especially eager to meet him. Ever since the formation of the Avengers, Tony had been on edge, working tirelessly to improve his armors and the equipment of his comrades (behind their backs, of course, lest they think him nice); this night out was supposed to just relax him.

The glowing, orange terrorist didn't quite agree with her plans.

She'd been extremely lucky, Tony had said. The attacker had been a bit overeager, and so had blown up before the optimal explosion radius. She didn't remember most of the attack, as it had been so sudden, but she did feel the piercing sensation that indicated she'd been hit with shrapnel. Tony concluded the shrapnel had likely come from the perpetrator himself (and maybe some silverware, he stated jokingly). He'd been furious, the kind of furious that could decimate mountains and obliterate islands (which Tony had actually done while finding the one who'd ordered the hit on her, some terrorist who called himself "The Mandarin"). She'd spent about a week in intensive care, and then had gone back to their house in Cali, where she received even more intensive care (aka Happy, the overzealous bodyguard). Wandering around the house, while getting used to the reactor in her chest, she'd gone down to the workshop. She'd always been fascinated by the place, as it gave her a pretty good idea of how Tony's mind would look like, if she had the ability to enter it. Once inside, JARVIS had asked her to step on a nearby platform. She trusted the AI implicitly, so she complied

Tony had left her a present, it seemed.

She knew Tony had been hard at work, improving his armor and creating modular upgrades for specific situations that might require it. He also worked on Rhodey's armor whenever he dropped by, which wasn't too often, unfortunately. But he'd never said anything about this. The armor that had sprung up from the depths of the house was obviously feminine, with all the right curves and a much narrower profile than Tony's own.

She'd been so awestruck, it took JARVIS a few calls to get her attention. He explained that Tony had been working hard on her armor, and that while he had hoped she would never have had to use it, it was fairly obvious that she couldn't really afford that luxury now. He said that Tony wished he could've been here to unveil the armor himself, but that Iron Man had a job to do, and that he couldn't very well leave the villain he was campaigning against unpunished.

The armor then opened itself up, and taking a deep breath, she stepped forward into a life she never thought she'd live.

A year and a half had passed, a marriage had happened, and an upgrade, too. She was fond of her old armor, of course, but she couldn't deny that the new one was much better. Now she could lift a tank, when before she struggled with a bus. The armor itself was much sleeker, and its energy efficiency was ridiculous; she could probably fight for an entire day without needing to let the reactor recharge. The speed boost was always welcome, and Tony had said that she was now able to fly into space. That was certainly a very interesting prospect, but one she hadn't had the time to test, as the toll of her new life became increasingly difficult on her schedule.

Tonight, though, was date night, and their first wedding anniversary. Tony had promised her something very special, but she had her reservations; she had no doubt Tony loved her with all his shrapnel-threatened heart, but he'd never been the most romantic of individuals. She knew what she'd been getting into, so that had never bothered her. Their relationship was one of banter, not one of poems.

Tony had made sure to clear both of their schedules, and appointed replacements so that the world wouldn't keel over while they were off the clock. Once he was sure they were ready, he asked her to come to their shared room in Avengers Tower

Pepper was pretty confused. Sure, she expected a bit of…action, but not until later at night. Tony gave her a knowing smile, made the move to kiss her…and then suited up. As in the Iron Man armor, not a suit and tie.

"Suit up, Pep, we're going out!" –Now she was really curious. Where were they going that they both needed to wear their armors? Her mind immediately went cliché, and thought 'Maybe he's taking me to Paris?' whatever the case, if she hadn't been excited before, she was now.

They blasted off, making sure no one saw them together. He marked a location in her HUD, and she quickly flew there to meet him. They were very high up, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Switching to her back thrusters she hovered in front of him.

"I love the view, Tony, but what's the plan?" She could see the small window pop up with his face in her HUD.

"Ah, well, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, Pep. But let me just say, this isn't the only sight you're going to be enjoying today. Do you trust me?"

"Mostly…nah, completely, Tony." Tony chuckled, and then her visual feed went dark.

"Umm, Tony, what's going on? I lost my visuals but everything else seems to be fine. Oh, except for my faceplate release, that seems to have sealed in."

"Don't worry Pep, that's all part of the date. Now settle down, it'll take about an hour to get there, so relax and enjoy the ride!"

Pepper was befuddled. Where could they possibly going that it'd take an hour to get there, at top speed?

Five minutes later, she had her answer. They were going up. Five minutes into the trip, Tony had JARVIS give her back visual control. And while annoyed at the conspiring between the two, she had to admit, the view was worth it. The earth rose up to salute her, her vision tinged with the heat that the armor generated from the atmosphere she was attempting to escape.

"Tony…this is beautiful! I can't believe I'm up here! Are we going to circle the planet?" –her voice broke a little, still trying to comprehend the fact that she was now one of the select few humans who'd left the homeworld.

"Oh, no, nothing that crude, honey. I got us the best seats in the house. Or, y'know outside of the house." –he gave her a wink over their video link.

"Does that mean…?" –it couldn't possibly be. The moon! Earth's satellite grew larger and larger over the remaining time of the flight, until it was so large it filled her viewscreen with the eerily beautiful, crater-filled face of Luna.

The deceleration was a little uncomfortable, as she had to hold her arms above her head for about three minutes, before switching around, and landing softly on the dusty surface. Looking up, she could see the blue orb in all its glory. She knelt down and grabbed a rock, but her armor was too strong and crushed it. She heard the sound of repulsors firing on heat mode and turned around, worry on her face, but Tony was only kneeling down, shooting at the floor.

"What are you doing?" –she asked.

"I am taking a childish concept and making it oh, so badass" –he said, with a lopsided grin.

Branded into the surface of the moon, was a heart shape with a P + T inscription.

Oh, yes. There were definitely some perks she loved about being a heroine_._

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><p>I'll be honest. The ending wasn't the best, but I just didn't find a way to make it better. I might revisit it later, word it differently. What did you think? This was a bit fluffy, wasn't it? Also, I tried to make sense of the mechanics of a human sized object traveling to the moon, but in the end I decided: 'screw it, comics'. There's not much more to say, honestly. I did include other famous Marvel names, since I don't have the restrictions the MCU does, and I think they're important to the universe...some of them may even be important later on! Finally, a word of warning: next chapter will be a bit darker. There's always a ton of firsts for superheroes: first save, first loss, first villain, first nemesis...Pepper might be facing her first defeat soon. No more from me, and I hope you keep reading and enjoying! Feedback is appreciated, remember! - Darthkvzn<p> 


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